


Red is the Blood

by Notatracer



Series: Crimson Arias [3]
Category: Fright Night (2011), Good Omens Extended Universe, Twilight (Movies)
Genre: Hurt Aro, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Vampire Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:07:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29106096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notatracer/pseuds/Notatracer
Summary: Fingers caressing bruised flesh. Pain. Sacrifice. Red is the blood that binds us together.Follows "Violet is the Sky"
Relationships: Aro (Twilight)/Peter Vincent
Series: Crimson Arias [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1762087
Comments: 20
Kudos: 26





	Red is the Blood

It had been several weeks since the last time Peter had set eyes on Aro. He'd tried to keep himself occupied with more than just drunk eBaying, but it was hard to concentrate when his body craved the vampire like a drug. 

In the meantime, he'd managed to land a weekend gig hosting b-movies on Las Vegas' public access television. It wasn't nearly as sexy as his stage show had been, but it gave him something to look forward to each week.

It was late at night when Peter felt an unmistakable chill run down his spine, as if someone was walking over his grave. He stayed very still on the bed, pretending to sleep.

He never heard footsteps approach the bedroom, but he could clearly make out the sounds of clothes being removed much more slowly than he'd ever known Aro to move. There was also an unusual, unpleasant smell filling his nostrils. Aro's presence felt right, but not the pungent odour of death. 

As he slid under the sheets, spooning into the curve of Peter's body, Aro whispered, "Forgive me."

Peter shivered as frigid lips pressed against the back of his neck. He expected Aro's hands to roam freely, eventually turning him over to roughly have his way with him. Instead, those strong, unnaturally cold arms enveloped him in a tight embrace. It was almost too tight, but Peter didn't care. Sleep soon overcame him.

  
When next he woke, he could see Aro standing out on the balcony. He was leaning against the railing, his back to Peter. He looked strange out there, almost human, with shower-damp hair pulled up and wearing clothes he'd obviously raided from Peter's wardrobe. Seeing Aro in one of his t-shirts sent Peter's blood south. It was all he could do to not rush out there and run his hands along those unnaturally white arms, nibble on that tempting ear. Maybe Aro would let him fuck him right there on the balcony. It was the least he could do after his thoughtless absence. 

Peter had barely shuffled his feet onto the balcony before Aro spoke, his gaze never leaving the sky.

"Do you ever find yourself wishing that you could take to the air? To fly away and completely leave this world of man ... and vampire?"

"You mean you can't just turn into a bat?"

"Certainly not."

"I, er, I guess it’s crossed my mind. Not so much the flying bit, but just saying 'fuck it' and leaving everything behind. Only problem with that is I have to take  _ me _ with me."

Aro's shoulders sagged as he let out a sigh.

"Peter?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to turn round now. Please, don't be frightened. It looks much worse than it is."

"What looks mu-"

Peter's voice caught in his throat as his brain tried to process the inhuman injury he was seeing. The right side of Aro's face resembled that of a shattered porcelain doll; deep cracks running from the charred, black area where his eye should be. His left eye didn't seem injured but his lid was nearly closed - a far cry from the usual intense, red stare.

"Jesus! Does it hurt?" 

"Tremendously."

"Can I get you anything? Painkillers or ... I don’t know. Anything at all?"

"No. It will heal in time. See, my hand has almost completely reattached itself."

He demonstrated by flexing his fingers, though not all of them seemed to cooperate.

"Fuck. What the fuck happened?!"

"Don't you see? I set us free."

"No, I don't see! What did you do to yourself?"

"I did nothing to myself. I allowed a small group of Romanian vampires to capture me in order to fake my own death."

"I'll fucking kill them."

"No need. I may have faked my demise, but I assure you my captors' deaths were very real."

"I don't understand why you would let them do this to you."

"I did it for you, for us - to buy us time and to protect you. The others would kill you slowly, painfully. Afterwards, they would certainly cast me out if they weren't able to get their hands on my head. My consorting with a human would be the perfect opportunity for those seeking to oust me as their leader."

"I still don't know why you would do all of this for  _ me_. I'm just- I'm just ..."

"You're my  _ cantante_." 

"I don't know what that means!"

"Your blood sings to me. My entire being is compelled to either love you or destroy you, and I much prefer the former."

Shaking, Peter sat on one of his balcony chairs, wishing he had a drink. He was not awake enough, and definitely not drunk enough, for a vampire declaring his love.

"You do not have to reciprocate my affections. I assure you I am quite aware that I am a monster."

Peter worried at his lip before speaking.

"I do. I do reciprocate. That's what scares me. I don't know if I want to ... change. Again. Completely. This is all happening too soon."

"The immortality that I would offer you is so unlike that of the creatures who almost turned you. But, rest assured, you don't have to decide now. That isn't what this is about. I wanted us to be able to see each other without constant worry. To give you the chance to decide your own fate. A choice I never had.

"You can think on this as my way of going on holiday. I was bored to a degree unimaginable to the mortal mind - centuries upon centuries of the same, day in and day out. I'll eventually reclaim my rightful place amongst the Volturi, perhaps with you by my side. Maybe the next, great vampire war will break out when I return. That would be exciting." 

Aro sat, slowly, on the chair opposite Peter. 

"My apologies for the smell. I managed to wash some of it away, but I know it's dreadful."

"It's fine."

Peter became aware that his eyes were darting, unconsciously trying to avoid looking directly at the right side of Aro's face. He finally settled on keeping his gaze directly on the vampire's undeniably kissable lips. 

Aro placed his arm on the small table between them, palm side up.

"I'm uncertain how well my powers will work with my injury. But, if you'll allow, I would like to attempt to show you what I've done for you."

Peter let out a breath as he slid his hand onto Aro's palm, unsure if he wanted to see what Aro intended to show him. Aro's grip was weak, his fingers struggling to close as he placed his other hand on top. Without hesitation, Peter curled his own fingers, holding their hands together.

He closed his eyes as he felt the first nudge of Aro in his mind. His own thoughts drowned out by disjointed images. At first, it was not unlike trying to watch free porn on a cheap motel's scrambled channel. You get an idea of what you're looking at but can't quite make out if you're jerking it to a boob or an elbow. At least in this instance, Peter could make out that he was seeing two people talking.

The more he concentrated on the image, the better he was able to see. It wasn't nearly as clear as the few memories Aro had shared before his recent disappearance, but it was functional enough. 

_ Aro stood, his forehead leaning against that of a vampire woman. _

_ 'A thousand whispered apologies could never forgive what I have done. Go see the world, live the life that I have denied you.' _

_ She took a step back, her expression growing cold as she slapped Aro hard before storming away from her tower prison. _

_ A young man, or rather a vampire with the appearance of a young man, stood alone. _

_ ~ Our tracker. An unfortunate, but necessary casualty. _

_ Aro appeared behind the tracker, quickly removing the unsuspecting vampire's head with ease. _

_ A morose vampire sat on a throne. Aro approached him, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. _

_ ~ An old friend. I offered to give him his greatest wish - the gift of death. Had I not, he would have certainly learned how I had wronged him long ago and he would have chased me down to the ends of the Earth. _

_ 'If we are permitted an afterlife, I know she waits there for you. Sleep well.' _

_ Aro dismounted a fearsome, black horse before approaching a small castle on foot. _

_ The Romanian vampires mocked him for daring to challenge them alone, easily over-taking him. _

_ ~ If they made even the slightest motion to remove my head, I would have ended them on the spot. Instead, they starved and tortured me before sending word to Volterra of my predicament.  _

_ A blonde vampire arrived, looking down his nose at a blacked out space where the gravely injured Aro should be.  _

_ ~ The image of my broken body is not for you to see. _

_ The blonde ripped the necklace, bearing the Volturi crest, from Aro's neck. _

_ ~ As I had hoped, he left me there to die. Foolish Caius.  _

_ ~ Even with one hand, nearly blind, and half-mad with thirst, it took very little effort to defeat my captors. _

_ Aro could only be seen in Peter's mind from just below the knees, trousers tattered and barefoot. At his bloodied feet lay headless vampires soon to be engulfed in flame. _

As the flames filled his inner vision, Peter pulled his hand away. Eyes wide, heart thumping, the true realisation of what Aro was nearly had him breaking out in a cold sweat. His fight or flight response was starting to kick in. It wasn't as though he could ever forget that Aro was a vampire, but it had been easy to compartmentalise the true definition of what that meant after they had shared quiet, intimate moments. Sure, he drank blood and could be kind of creepy, but he was also charming and a fantastic kisser and he had basically declared his love only a few minutes ago and- and ... and, Jesus fuck, he had pulled those vampires' heads off like it was nothing at all. 

Peter scrubbed his hand through his hair, taking a moment to calm himself before looking up to Aro's damaged face. If he didn't know better, and he wasn't sure if he did know better, Aro's expression seemed heartbroken. He must have, at the very least, felt Peter's disgust before their connection was severed. 

"I will leave if you wish."

Peter sighed through his nose. Everything Aro had been through these past few weeks, he had done it all for  _ him_. There was no denying that no matter what morbid way it presented itself, no one had ever cared so deeply for Peter... did so much to protect him. Not since his parents. Strange how life seemed to go full circle.

Peter reached across the table so he could rub his fingers across the uninjured side of Aro's face. 

"Don't you dare leave."

A small smile crossed Aro's lips, but was quickly replaced by a frown.

"I'm not feeling very well."

"Yeah, I'd imagine not. Let's get you back to bed."

As Peter helped Aro to his feet and into the bedroom, he was able to get a close-up view of not only the burnt-out right eye socket (which, honestly, made Peter a little queasy) but also his left eye. Since Aro had kept that eye almost closed, he hadn't noticed anything was wrong with it as well.

"Your eye ... the, uh, good one ... it's black."

Aro hissed between his teeth as he sat on the bed.

"I didn't realise. Not with the constant pain of my healing body. Help me downstairs so I can hunt."

"I'm not taking you downstairs in your condition."

"Then bring me a human. I shouldn't have come here first."

"I can't bring you-"

"Please! I don't know how many days it's been since I've had blood ... how long I have."

"You've drank from me before, you can do it now. I'm not going to let you fucking die."

Aro laughed a mirthless sound.

"Death is not so easily had. When the need becomes too great, I'll become exactly what you fear most. Only, you won't be able to stop me."

Peter swallowed hard. Well, fuck.

"Stay put. I'll- I'll be right back."

Adrenaline pumping, Peter felt as though he was moving completely on instinct. He only vaguely registered that Aro was calling after him, asking what he was doing. What was he doing? From behind the bar, Peter lifted his werewolf dagger turned fruit knife. He'd done very little worthwhile in his life, he could do this for someone who had sacrificed his own well-being for him.

Aro noticed the dagger the moment Peter had bounded back into the bedroom.

"Peter, no! I don't know if I'll be able to control myself."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

He joined Aro on the bed, adding, "You're not changing my mind."

"Stubborn mortal."

Peter winked as he raised the dagger. 

"Wait! Promise that you'll stop me the moment you become the slightest bit unwell or if you feel my teeth. If I don't let go, plunge that dagger into my wounded eye. What little there is should give you no resistance. It won’t kill me, but it should get my attention."

"I-"

"Promise me!"

"OK, I promise."

"If I seem crazed after you stab me, run like you've never run before."

Peter nodded. Just do this, just do this, don't think about it, just ... Peter quickly sliced across the meatiest part of his forearm, hoping to God that he didn't cut too deeply.

Aro's eye widened as blood ran from Peter's arm onto the bed. Licking his lips, he descended, immediately sucking greedily. The pressure of his mouth, the wet sounds of his feeding, the low moans of satisfaction ... it was all making Peter incredibly aroused. He was so caught up in the sensations that it hadn't quite dawned on him that any hard-on he initially had was flagging due to his rapid blood loss. Peter’s eyes slipped closed. Oh, it felt so good … so, so good … like he was giving his very life to Aro. Like he was-- 

Peter’s eyes snapped open. He shoved at Aro’s shoulder.

“Aro, stop! Let go!”

Aro growled deep in his throat.

Peter’s fingers brushed over the handle of the dagger. Instead of grabbing it, he quickly grasped Aro’s hand and squeezed. Concentrating every emotion, every thought, he hoped this would work because if not …

Aro detached his mouth with a gasp. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Anatolios.”

Peter tried not to wince at that name as he shushed Aro. 

“It’s ok. I’m fine. Nothing a tetanus shot won’t fix.”

Eye closed, Aro turned away.

“Please get the blood out of my sight.”

Peter set about the task of tending to his arm followed by changing the bloodied sheets. Again. Patching wounds and cleaning up blood seemed to be a running theme in their relationship. He was still feeling a little woozy, but he was in far better shape than Aro. 

Aro was sitting in the chair he had dumped his soiled and tattered clothes on earlier that night, looking for all the world like he was sleeping. After Peter had deposited him on the chair, he’d wiped his mouth and pulled his hair down from its ponytail. Now, he looked so peaceful. Peaceful excluding the horror that was half of his face. 

“Are you asleep?”

“You know I don’t sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever it is you do when you look like you’re sleeping.”

“No. I’m simply waiting patiently. Tell me, what colour is my eye?”

Peter leaned in close. 

“Red. Very red.”

“Excellent. Thank you. My hero.”

Peter blushed.

“The, uh, the bed’s ready. You should rest.”

Before standing, with help from Peter, Aro retrieved a small vial from his jacket pocket. Once he was on the bed, he sat the item on the bedside table. To Peter, it looked like a raisin floating in water. 

“It’s my missing eye, what remains of it, floating in venom. Once my face heals, I’ll reattach it. Then, I’ll be right as-- Oh, what’s the human expression?”

“Rain. Right as rain.”

“Why would rain be right?”

“I- I don’t know. Just lay down.”

Peter had every intention of sleeping on the sofa, but soon found himself settling into bed. Aro turned his head so the right side of his face was hidden against his pillow.

It wasn’t long before Peter was sure this time that the vampire had slipped off into what he insisted wasn’t sleep. However, Aro was soon quietly asking if he was awake.

“I am now. What is it?”

“I want you to take my body. In its weakened state, it will be pliant under you. Make me feel alive again.”

It was tempting. God, it was tempting. Peter placed his hand on Aro’s chest, tracing his fingers along the t-shirt’s Hard Rock Cafe logo.

“I’ll make you a deal. When you’re feeling better, you tell me exactly how you liked to be touched, to be fucked, before you were turned.”

“It won’t be the same.”

Peter’s hand drifted down to Aro’s stomach.

“Maybe not, but I’ll make sure it’s as close as possible. We’ll have a candle-lit dinner. Yours will be blood in a wine glass, of course. Then, I’ll strip off your clothes slowly.”

“Mmm. That sounds delightful.”

Peter’s hand gently slipped down to the front of Aro’s pyjama bottoms. 

“I’m going to buy you an electric blanket, see if we can warm you up. After I strip you, I’m going to lay you out on that hot blanket and kiss you from head to toe.”

Peter slid his hand into the flap of the pyjamas, grasping onto the cold hardness he found inside. Aro let out a contented sound.

“I want to know what it feels like to be inside you. When was the last time you let someone fuck you like that?”

“Thousands of years.”

Peter’s hand pumped harder.

“I’m going to make love to you while looking you in the eyes. Your legs wrapped round my waist. Kissing you between every thrust.”

“Ooh!”

“You like the thought of that?”

“Yes. What else will you do?”

“I’m going to hold your hands so you can feel my own arousal, hear my thoughts. I hope it’ll make you feel how good it is to be inside you from both of our positions at the same time.”

Aro arched up a bit with a low moan from the back of his throat.

Gasping, Aro added, “I’ll open the connection so you can feel it too.”

Peter growled at the thought, twisting his wrist. 

“Sounds good.”

Closing his eyes, Peter sought out Aro’s lips as he felt him pulse in his hand. Much like the rest of his body, it was a weak orgasm. It didn’t seem to matter as Aro smiled sweetly when their lips parted. He buried the injured side of his face into his pillow again as Peter wiped up the small mess with a tissue.

Peter ignored his own arousal. Instead, he settled against Aro. He listened as the vampire’s breath evened out and eventually stopped, as it would do when Aro fell asleep. Whatever he said, Peter refused to believe it wasn’t sleep. ‘Contemplative meditation’ his foot. 

As the first rays of sunrise peaked over the horizon, Peter pressed the button that would close his black-out curtains. He returned his attention to his inhuman bed mate, sighing as he combed his fingers through Aro’s silky hair. He kissed the irresistible shell of his ear before trying again to sleep. 

He tried not to think about the decisions he would have to make, the awful things Aro had endured (and did) on his behalf, and simply live in the moment. The first time in his entire life that he could honestly say that he was in love.

**Author's Note:**

> Come [tumblr](https://famousmortimer.tumblr.com/) with me.


End file.
